Wednesday in Bird World – brief news

22 June 2022

It is a hot sunny and beautiful day on the Canadian prairies. The Farmer’s Markets are opening up, there are still lilacs blooming, and well…I wish the ice cream truck would come down the street!!!!! I did my walk. 5.8 km and it was way too hot!!!!!! Dreaming of winter. LOL.

SF Ospreys posted a video on YouTube showing Molate incubating the nonviable egg. Just look! Perfect aerating, rolling, and incubation! They asked viewers if it was an accident or deliberate. What do you think?

ND16 has joined fledgling ND15 up on the fledging branch at the ND-LEEF Bald Eagle nest in Indiana. Little Bit 17 is still enjoying being the baby on the nest!

Update: ND16 has fledged. It has not been located as far as I know.

Little Bit 17 is doing just fine. With the two older siblings having fledged and thinking about flying, Mum flies in at 15:57 and 17 gets a private feeding. So far the nest is holding fine. Dad and Mum have some work to do. I wonder if they will rebuilt this nest??

Can you tell the difference between Idris and Telyn’s chicks? I sure can’t anymore. Ringing next week and then names given!

All three of Thunder and Akecheta’s fledglings (doesn’t that sound nice?) can be seen. Some nice soaring in the thermals this morning by at least one of them. I think it was Ahote but not 100%.

‘H’ reports that Mum brought in a Horse-shoe Crab yesterday late and arranged it on the nest – and Dad brought in 9 fish, too. Wow. ‘H’ also had a screen grap that shows what is in that second plastic bag – a water bottle! I wonder where she finds these things. This female does like to decorate her nest. Oh, I would love to get into her head about that love of yellow. It is striking and certainly brightens up the nest. Thanks, ‘H’!

That worrisome piece of yellow mesh wire was still on the nest. One of the chicks was using it as a pillow!

Mum is very smart. Maybe she is worried about that mesh as well.

She removes it from the nest!!!!!!!! The raptors are extremely intelligent. Never think that we are smarter than they are. Some of you will know my huge respect for falconer, Laura Culley. When Big Red’s daughter J1 had been killed by striking a window, someone asked her if Big Red knew. Culley’s answer was, “And why wouldn’t she!”

She has returned unharmed and Dad can be seen, too. It is extremely windy. I am hoping those plastic bags will fly off as well.

Cal Falcons has posted the cutest video clip of Grinnell Jr – loudly saying he wants his breakfast!

If you are following Jan and Janika’s three surviving storklets that are in care at the Vet School at EMU (Estonia Medical University), they have done exceptionally well in care. They are all standing (only one not completely steady is the smallest storklet) and are flapping their wings an getting their juvenile feathers. In two days they should be going to an outside location to help prepare them for when the fledge.

The storklets of Karl II and Kaia are also growing and are doing so, so well. Notice how they form an immediate circle when it is feeding time.

Betty and Bukacek’s storklets are doing fantastic, too. So all three of the nests that I follow – Karl II and Kaia, Jan and Janika (in care), and Bukacek and Betty are progressing well in order to fledge in August. They will return for feedings and then they will fly all the way to the central part of Africa! Incredible.

It is pretty quiet in Bird World – for a change! Thank you so much for joining me for this check on some of the nests. Do take care. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures or their videos: EMU, Capio Hnizo- Mlade Buky, Eagle Club of Estonia, Cal Falcons, ND-LEEF, Mispillion Harbour Osprey Cam and the DDNR, Dfyi Osprey Project, SF Ospreys, and the West End Eagles and the Institute for Wildlife Studies.

Summer Solstice in Bird World!

21 June 2022

In the northern hemisphere, this is the day when the earth is tilted at its maximum to the sun – the longest sunny day. It has been pitching down rain and now….the sun is shining bright and the temperatures have dropped from the blistering 38 to a mere 20 C. The birds are active and the air conditioning is turned off. Nice. Today I will be sorting through all the things that were in Little Red’s penthouse looking for tomato cages. With the heat and the rain, the tomato plants are almost as tall as I am – seriously. But, let’s see what is happening with our birds, first.—–Oh, and now it is clouding over again and the torrential rain is back. Goodness. I sure hope our City imported a lot of Dragon flies this year to eat those mosquitoes.

The Canadian celebrities continue to be the little hawklet who is living with the Bald Eagles on Gabriola Island in British Columbia. Malala is very cute – and one lucky Red-tail hawklet. Of course, he thinks he is an Eagle! Doing well. Branched the other day. Can you imagine? This wildlife rehab group just put up the camera a few months prior to the eagles arriving and now they are the talk of Bird World? This is a good interview by CBC radio.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-the-monday-edition-1.6495076/an-eagle-snatched-a-baby-hawk-for-dinner-then-ended-up-adopting-it-1.6495246?fbclid=IwAR2T_4Mhw4tgXNvli_SHd6xDPlr1aMWUOx1q-QsoBwDbH3Ef8p9nb7KN0rw

The fledglings at the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey platform continue to return to the nest for food and sometimes just to have a quick rest. Gosh, these two are doing really well after a very rocky start on this nest. They are waiting for the tea time fish drop!

What gorgeous birds these two have turned out to be. They know where home is. I wonder if they have been trying to fish on their own yet?

I was able to get some more information about the history of the Mispillion Harbour Ospreys. The woman at the DuPont Centre is not certain that this is the same couple that were on the nest when the camera was installed. Lynn Pussey said, “We’ve generally had good success with our nest, with 2-3 successful fledgelings each year. The only exception to that was 2017 when we lost one chick early on to siblicide and the other two to illness. This year was odd because we had 4 eggs but only 2 hatch. But those two are healthy and growing. Other than that, we usually see all eggs hatch and all chicks successfully fledge.”

 

I wonder if these chicks will be prone to bringing bright coloured material to their nests in a few years?

Little Bit 17 at the ND-LEEF nest just proves that being small is not a hindrance when you are confident. Mum landed with something – I could not see it – and Little Bit mantled right away. One of the big siblings came and took a little piece but Little Bit held on and ate ‘it’! So impressed. 17 is so quick – just like the hawklet in the Bald Eagle nest at Gabriola Island.

Here is Little Bit 17 mantling and hanging on to its food. Take that 16!

Bukachek and Betty’s four White Storklets at Mlade Buky were ringed this morning.

Whatever was happening at the Loch of the Lowes dissipated yesterday when Laddie delivered 7 fish. He has already gotten a good start to this morning and Blue NC0 and the chicks are very happy. They should be ringing these two osplets soon.

The Welsh sunrise is really beautiful. There is always a soft pink glow over the Glaslyn Valley and the nest of Aran and Mrs G.

Aran has been letting out intruder calls in the afternoon around 15:50 but it didn’t stop him from getting Mrs G and the kids a nice fish.

101 votes have been cast guessing the gender of the three osplets at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. It is a record. GGB is still out ahead with 40 of those votes! We will find out next week when they are ringed. So happy for the interest in this great Osprey family in Wales.

As KG and I said on the chat – the guessing of the genders adds a bit of fun to ringing day — it does. We can all use a smile these days.

It was a beautiful morning at Loch Garten. Mrs AX6 is looking good. She is a great mum.

Later in the day you can see the unviable egg and the two little Osplets.

Just look at those three big females with their bling at the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya. I would sure welcome some of that sunshine!!!!!!! It is interesting. At Manton Bay there was no aggression this year — three females. At Port Lincoln Osprey barge last year, no aggression — all males. It is often when you have a female chick with males where you see all the beaking. Females require more food because they have to grow 1/3 larger and they are often very aggressive. Think ND16 at the LD-LEEF Bald Eagle nest.

June 20 was Bald Eagle Day in the US. I forgot. For all who celebrated, belated Happy Eagle Day!

Mr President has brought in two fish already to DC9 Takoda this morning! This is the second delivery. Everything is going as it should. Takoda fledged and is returning to the nest to be fed while getting those flying muscles strong — and take off and landings improved.

As the sun comes up on the Channel Islands, Sky is home alone at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta.

It isn’t long until Sky is joined by his younger brother, Ahote. Everyone is waiting for Akecheta to bring in some fish for breakfast. And never fear, Kana’kini is somewhere around the island and will no doubt fly in hoping to get some fish, too.

Chase and Cholyn’s Lancer has been getting some good air and doing some high hovering in the past few days. She is sure a beautiful eagle!

I am really glad that Kaia was not successful in eliminating one of the three healthy chicks on the Karula Forest Black Stork nest. They are all doing well and Karl II just brought in a heaping load of fish for them. What is interesting is watching them now as they stimulate the feeding by doing a special wing flap and lowering and raising their heads. So cute! And they are so nice and fat. These are doing super well and food does not seem to be an issue!

Jan and Janika’s Black Storklets in the care of the Vet Clinic were ringed. They should be moved to the forest enclosure soon – they are thinking 24 June. Today they are 30 days old. How lovely – so grateful to those folks who made it possible for these three to survive.

This morning Lindsay returned to The Campanile and she is chasing a moth! Look at the influence of Alden – both Lindsay and Grinnell Jr love chasing moths. So cute. It is also nice to know that both are safe and doing well. They certainly are loud!!!!!!!!

It continues to pour – just like the monsoon rains in SE Asia. Incredible. I am going to turn the AC off and get a sweater. The thunder is rolling and the temperature has really dropped.

Thank you so much for joining me. Take care everyone. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures and their videos: Cal Falcons, Liz M and the EMU, Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky Storks, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, NADC-AEF, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery and the Woodland Trust, RSPB Loch Garten, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Mispillion Harbour Osprey Cam and DDNR, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, and the ND-LEEF.

L4 fledges and other news in Bird World

18-19 June 2022

The record breaking rains coupled with our current heat warning mean that it feels like a rainforest on the Canadian Prairies. The songbirds are happy. The lilacs and vines have grown enough that they are providing cooling shade for the birds. The temperature drops tremendously – just like walking into the Bamboo Forest at Arashiyama outside of Kyoto – when you enter their area of the garden.

Bamboo Forest of Arashiyama, Kyoto 京都嵐山の竹林” by CLF is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

37 degrees C or 98.6 F today. Heat warning. Winter went to summer with tonnes of rain and flooding. The new normal?

Yesterday L4 was jumping all over the rails just as he had done the day before. The question on everyone’s mind was when is L4 going to fledge? Well, he flew this morning! 07:03:36. L4 landed in the trees across the street taking off from the rail where he loved to dance and jump. Congratulations! Big Red and Arthur have successfully fledged 4 hawks.

Ready…set…

Go!!!!!!!!! And L4 is off to the trees over by the Fernow Building across the street.

Rosie and Richmond’s two osplets were banded yesterday and the banders believe that they are two little boys by the leg measurements. Sweet. Today is the last day to vote on the name pairings! Here is the SF Bay Ospreys announcement:

The little Red-tail hawklet- Malala- that arrived for lunch and stayed to be adopted at the Bald Eagle nest on Gabriola Island (just off Vancouver Island) – has branched and is really growing. Consider its size compared to the eaglets and how fast it is at getting prey. Now think of Little Bit 17. ND15 and ND16 might be big but ND 17 is quick, like the hawklet, as lightning.

Yesterday Thunder and Akecheta’s triplets were on the nest together for awhile. So nice to see the Three Amigos. Beautiful, beautiful juvenile eagles.

Thunder’s sister at the Two Harbours nest of Chase & Cholyn is big and beautiful. Parents are bringing in the fish – there were three yesterday!

Spirit is a regular visitor to her Big Bear Valley natal nest. Her ‘eagle’ eyes see Jackie and Shadow coming in with fish and she is on that nest! Fabulous.

In the first image, Spirit has spotted a fish delivery. She rushes to the nest.

Those parents really have to be careful with those talons. Shadow’s beak is extremely sharp.

Whew.

It did not take long for Spirit to polish that fish off!

Remember when?

Saturday evening Mum arrived on the ND-LEEF nest and fed the three eaglets the rest of the raccoon. ND17 had a nice little crop after – he did appreciate the raccoon! 15 and 16 had some bites and left.

Sunday morning a really large fish was brought to the nest at 08:52. Little Bit 17 stole some of that fish at 09:01.

At 09:14:24 Little Bit 17 grabs more of that fish and rushes over to the rim to eat it while a big sibling stands behind him. I sure hope he got that nice tail portion!

Takoda is still branching – have not heard of a fledge at the National Arboretum nest in Washington, DC yet.

The nest of Aran and Mrs G is really getting to look like part of the field down below. All three of the chicks are doing grand.

Aran flew in with a really nice fish at 13:43! It was a lively one.

Not to be undone by Aran. Idris is on a roll and this morning he brought in a very rare Shad to the nest to the envy of all watching. Telyn was quite happy to take that whole fish and feed it to the Bobs!

CJ7 might be a first time mother but she is a really smart one. She had a nice piece of fish tucked under some nesting materials to feed the Bobs first thing this morning – they were hungry very early.

Blue 022 has proven himself to be a young but reliable Dad – several fish deliveries including this one at 15:47. Blue 022 is flying off and CJ7 is up and ready to feed the babies.

The three Bobs on the Manton Bay nest of Blue 33 and Maya are as big as Mum when she is feeding them. All bets are on for tomorrow (Monday the 20th) being banding day provided a boat and a bander are available.

Everyone is tired after a big meal.

The latest tracking for Ervie shows him staying around Port Lincoln and his unusual haunts. This comes from the 18th. Did he visit the barge?

Other quick news. News is coming from Patuxent River Park. An osplet fell through the platform because a Beaver chewed a large hole. A new platform is going up. Will follow up on this. There was a hatch at the MN Landscape Arboretum Ospreys on June 17 at 08:26:34. A pair of Ospreys landed on the Collins Marsh nest above the old fire viewing tower. I hope they do not stay. This nest needs to be removed and a new platform built with a ladder and a perch! And the pond needs to be stocked with fish for them. The fishing has been hard for Laddie and Loch of the Lowes with no fish delivery so far on Sunday. I sure hope Blue NC0 goes out fishing – the Bobs are too big to let starve!!!!!!! Has something happened to Laddie? If you watched the Decorah North nest, DN16 has fledged. The three Black Storklets of Jan and Janika have yet to be moved to their ‘forest room’. I am told it will be soon. This is the latest feeding video from Liz. They are getting their itchy feathers!

Happy Father’s Day to all those bird fathers out there caring for their mates and their chicks and/or eggs! Here is a lovely tribute from Cal Falcons – grab a tissue! Lindsay and Grinnell Jr are one of the positive things to come out of Bird World this year!

Take care everyone. It is a busy day on the nests with lots of things happening. Thank you so much for joining me today. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or FB pages where I took my screen captures: SF Ospreys, GROWLS, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, FOBBV, NADC-AEF, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, Poole Harbour Ospreys, LRWT, Cornell RTH Cam, EMU and Liz, ND-LEEF, and Cal Falcons.

L3 fledges at Cornell and other news in Bird World

13 June 2022

The third hatch of Big Red and Arthur fledged at 11:29:32. One of the older siblings had just taken off after eating some lunch and L3 followed right after them.

What a great flight! Look at that take off.

Cornell put out a video of the fledge! Oh, look – get your legs up! Just beautiful.

One of the FB chatters SAH got a photo of L3 in the trees where she landed. Thank you!

Ahote and Kana’kini had been venturing out to check out their surroundings. They returned home a little while ago thinking that Thunder had brought in some lunch!!!!!

The head of Scottish Wildlife sent this out to subscribers today. Thank you to ‘S’ for forwarding this to me. It seems that they are worrying about the state of the small chick, too. These chicks are getting their juvenile feathers. All of the nonsense should have stopped. It is noted that Laddie has cut down on his fish deliveries which is causing the issue. I remember last year Blue NC0 went out and fished – she is a good fisher and really did great supplementing the male’s deliveries. Those chicks were a little older. Fingers crossed and toes for the wee one.

There is no problem with fish deliveries at the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G. It seems that Mrs G no more than gets the kids fed and Aran is taking the head off another fish! The osplets are 16, 15, and 12 days old and are right in the Reptilian Phase. They are getting the dark wooly down that will help them thermoregulate their temperatures. there is Little Bob right in the middle. Oh, how they have grown.

The two bigger ones are really exploring around the nest. Little Bob looks like he is going to climb out of that nest cup soon.

It is late and Aran has another fish that he will be bringing to the nest either for the bedtime meal or for first thing in the morning. Way to go Aran.

Life is good at the Dyfi nest of Idris and Telyn. All three Bobs were packed with good fish before bed today. They are 19, 18, and 16 days old today.

The three Bobs at Llyn Clywedog are in their third week after hatching. They love looking out beyond the nest and thankfully the early angst over Little Bob is gone. Dylan is delivering fish regularly and life is good with Seren and the kids. They are now at the stage where predation is decreasing. Yippeee. The early signs of a Goshawk in the area were worrisome.

There are now two chicks at RSBP Loch Garten! The second arrived about 04:11 Monday morning and they were being fed at 19:38. Congratulations AX6 and Mrs AX6! It is lovely to have Ospreys at Loch Garten. Hoping for a very successful summer for all of you.

This is the link to this camera:

The Bobs at Manton Bay are now past the 35 day mark and they can be ringed anytime. It will be fabulous to find out who is a male or a female -. They have been a cuddle bundle to watch this year. Blue 33 kept them full and Maya fed them – and except for two flapping fish incidents early on – the three have survived those huge fish deliveries!

At the ND-LEEF the food has been very scarce. Little Bit had that bit of fish this morning for about a minute. Every one of the eaglets is hungry. All of them! The news this late afternoon is that ND15 has branched. Branching is when the ‘bird’ gets fully out of the nest and onto a branch. Branching normally takes place before fledging which is the first flight.

There has been more activity late in the day at the Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey Nest. The bird that I believe is a large female intruder who has taken over the nest has been poking around the chick to the left as you view the nest. She finally lifted it and because of the size, the poor dead little one fell on the side of the nest box.

She is doing the quiet peeps that she has done all weekend. Ospreys normally do not move the chicks from the nest once they are this large.

I continue to find this just super sad. ‘EJ’ informed me that on one of the FB postings a dead osprey had been found on a trail near the nest about the time the male went missing.

It is not often we get such an upfront view of a tragedy on an Osprey nest – the loss perhaps of an entire family and the intruder trying to figure out what to do with ‘what’ is on the nest. She does not appear to recognize the dead chicks like the Mum would or us – as the once vibrant babies on the nest. She is also not strong enough to carry them off the nest. I think that she is also very hungry.

In another nest twist, Lady Hawk posted a video of the hawklet being raised by the Bald Eagle family on Gabriola Island. This was 17 hours ago.

The worry over Little Bob at the Loch of the Lowes and the happenings at the Cape Henlopen nest wear on one after a bit. Then there is the worry over Little Bit 17 getting something more to eat today. It seems that this year has been anything but smooth for many of our nests. Some of you might remember the Collins Marsh nest in WI last year. Little Malin was force fledged and was found later dead on the ground. Either the adults from last year did not return from migration or they took up another nest, perhaps closer to more fish. At any rate, there are no ospreys nesting on the top of that tower this year, thankfully.

When I need a smile I think of a few of the birds that we have met this year. Ervie is one that always gives me tears of joy. What a special third hatch he has turned out to be. He has been flying around Port Lincoln staying around the hotel and the silos. PLO posted his lastest tracking and it is for the 13th of June. Always good to see that tracker moving! Mum and Dad have been on and off the barge. Oh, how I wish they would let Ervie make an appearance!

Lots will happy between now and tomorrow. Let us hope it is all good! Thank you for joining me. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for the screen cams, FB postings, and videos: Lady Hawk, Cornell Red Tail Hawks, Explore.org and Institute for Wildlife Studies, Friends of Loch of the Lowes and Scottish Wildlife Trust, Suzanne Arnold Horning, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXwild, RSPB Loch Garten, LRWT, LD-NEEF, Cape Henlopen State Park Osprey Cam, and Port Lincoln Ospreys FB.

Late Sunday and early Monday in Bird World

12 June 2022

UPDATE: The smallest, the 5th hatch storklet, at the Mlade Buky nest of Betty and Bukacek was eliminated on Sunday. I had missed this.

It looks like it could be another rainy day on the Canadian Prairies. We are certainly making up with moisture this spring for 4-5 years of drought. Everything is green and beautiful.

Well, the weather is taking its toll on other nests in Scotland and Wales on Sunday. Those long, cold rainy days with a dip in fish deliveries are making some of the Bobs cranky – and aggressive. Big Bob on the Loch of the Lowes almost pushed both Middle and Little Bobs off the nest. Little Bob has also missed out on some meals. I sure hope this weather changes and these chicks settle down.

At tea time on Monday, Telyn went out of her way – finally – to make sure that Little Bob had fish. I was terribly happy to see this as the biggest Bob is working hard to exclude Little.

Idris and Telyn at the Dyfi nest made sure that all three of the Bobs were fed well before bedtime on Sunday. It has been a stinker of weather over in Wales, too.

Monday’s tea at Dyfi was a Sea Bass followed by the delivery of a mullet by Idris to Telyn and the kids. The weather had considerably improved.

My goodness. Aran caught one of his whoppers! He cleaned off the head before delivering it to Mrs G and the kids.

Mrs G fed herself and the kids. Big Bob is in food coma and Little and Middle are up at the table.

There was lots of fish left over when Mrs G finished so Aran decided to have a really good meal before he got on the perch. All appears to be good.

The wind is still blowing a bit on the Glaslyn nest at tea time. All of the chicks are wide awake. Look at how good Little Bob is doing. He is standing at the back.

We have learned that a good nest can change in the blink of an eye – or weather, intruders, lack of prey. So far the osplets on the nest of Blue 33 (11) and Maya are doing fantastic. They are now all at least five weeks old and they will be ringed soon. Ringing normally takes place between 35-43 days in the UK. Any later and the osplets could bolt and any earlier and the leg would still be growing.

The weather has improved at Loch Arkaig – thankfully. Louis has brought fish in and has covered up Little Bob with some sticks brought in and from the nest. The surviving two Bobs appear to be fine this morning. They benefited from being under Dorcha during the cold rain and winds.

The rain appears to have stopped at the Llyn Clywedog nest of Dylan and Seren. Dylan is on the nest and in the early afternoon there was a male intruder with a blue Darvic ring that was flying around the nest. He was quickly sent off.

The three storklets continue to thrive in the care of the Veterinary School. Forest sounds have been added to their environment.

A very good article has been translated and placed on Looduskalender with the Forum for the Black Stork nest of Karl II and Kaia. The information could be applied universally to nests that depend on fish for their main food item. The specific nest that they are talking about is, however, that of Karl II and Kaia in the Karula National Forest.

Black Stork – Ciconia nigra

The older chicks hatched on 28 May and turned two weeks old today. The third chick is considerably smaller but hatched three days later than the older two.
Mother Kaia and father Karl are managing to feed their chicks well, despite the youngest being significantly smaller than the others. We know and have observed that Black Storks sometimes carry out infanticide, i.e. the parent birds remove the weakest chick from the nest. The main reason for this is a lack of food. Chicks must be very well fed because they will embark on a long and dangerous migration in August on their own, but this is how black storks do it. Less than a third of this year’s chicks will be alive in a year.
What are we not seeing on the webcam?
In Karula National Park, where this black storks nest is located, Kotkaklubi has been organising clean-up campaigns for many years to clear the banks of the brooks of the Koiva river basin of undergrowth so that the birds can access them. Small natural streams quickly become overgrown with vegetation, but black storks are happy to feed in such remote places. Adult birds will also look for food in ditches where fish can be found during the breeding season. Still, these ditches may dry up during both spring and summer droughts, threatening breeding success. Therefore the birds need to be able to visit different feeding areas. Adult BS also forage in meadows, catching frogs and occasionally rodents. We can see on the webcam that fish is their primary food.
In addition, Urmas Sellis has installed a fish basket with live fish in a stream about ten kilometres away from the nest, and a trail camera has recorded the visits of black storks there.

Today, 13 June, the chicks are respectively 16, 16 and 13 days old.

The three storklets of Karl II and Kaia are waking up to a whole new day!

PLEASE NOTE THAT ON SUNDAY, BETTY ELIMINATED THE 5TH STORKLET. It looks like another rainy mucky day for Bukacek and Betty and their five little white storklets in Mlade Buky. I cannot look at the adult standing there without thinking about the plastic decoy with the storklets of Jan and Janika. Looks just like that decoy!

The storklets are getting their juvenile feathers.

A prey item has been brought to the ND-LEEF nest at 08:36:54. ND 15 stole it from ND16 and at 08:57:49 Little Bit 17 steals it, eats some, and then 16 gets it. They are all hungry but Little Bit is right in there!

Little Bit 17 is still ‘the king of the snatch and grab’. Fingers crossed for a lot more prey today!

It is extremely sad to see the Cape Henlopen nest with the three dead osplets of the long bonded pair on an empty nest. It remains unclear what happened to the 20 year old Dad and Mum from the nest after the intruders took over late Friday. An entire family lost because of intruders? So sad.

Will the intruders return? We wait.

Both fledglings were on the UFlorida-Gainesville Osprey nest this morning. Middle had control of the fish delivery. The parents have been excellent at bringing the two lots of fish during the day. They look to be in great health and their flying skills – and landing – are improving every day.

At 08:41 all four of Big Red and Arthur’s hawklets were on the nest. L2 fledged first followed by L1. L3 spent Sunday up on a higher level of the tower but it has yet to fledge along with the youngest L4.

L3 is 49 days old today and L4 is 46. The average of fledge at Big Red’s nest is 46.5 days. We could be looking at another two flying today or tomorrow.

Takoda is 69 days old today. On Sunday he had branched up to the height where Mr President normally perches. Early this morning he made it up to the cam which made for some lovely closeups just for us! Fledging is close at hand.

All eyes are on Star at the Redding Eagle nest. She is branching farther up and this early morning seems to have put out the sound on the streaming cam. As far as I know, there has been no sighting of Sentry since he fledged.

Could this be your day to fly Star?

Spirit is so beautiful. She is 3 months and 9 days old today. She hatched on 3 March and fledged on 31 May. She came down to visit the nest before taking off into the Big Bear Valley at 06:13. She might have been looking for breakfast!

There is one more fledge to go at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagles nest and that is H18. Both H16 and H17 fledged on the 10th of June within an hour and a half of one another (06:20 and 07:50). That third fledge could happen any time.

Both eaglets at the US Steel nest are considering branching! What a gorgeous view.

Ahote and Kana’kini were on the move this morning. What a beautiful camera view of both of them. Sky is still on the natal nest. The time is o7:03.

An early morning view of the San Jose City Hall Peregrine falcons.

At 03:58 Annie was sleeping in the scrape with Lindsay and Grinnell Jr. Precious moments. Fledge will come before we know it. Goodness. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Alden came into our lives???? It sure seems like it. Annie and Alden have been super parents and I am thrilled that these two chicks got a chance to make their own way in the world. It could have been dramatically different without Alden.

Fledge watch begins for Lindsay and Grinnell Jr tomorrow – 14 June!!!!!!

It is early morning on the Canadian Prairies. We have had so much rain that the landscape could be the green of Ireland! It is impossible to see the birds and squirrels and even the small bunny in the jungle that has grown. Birds can be seen flying in and out and the feeders are empty by noon so they are in there – just covered by all the branches and leaves.

There may be several fledges today. There are eyes on many, many nests!

I hope that your Monday is a good start to the week. Thank you for joining me. Take care!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams and/or websites where I took my screen captures: Friends of Loch of the Lowes and the Woodland Trust, Dyfi Osprey Project, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, LRWT, Friends of Loch Arkaig, People’s Post Code Lottery and Scottish Wildlife Trust, CarnyXWild, Eagle Club of Estonia, LizM, Mlade Buky, ND-LEEF, Cape Henlopen State Park Ospreys Cam, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, Cornell Bird Lab RTH, NADE-AEF, Friends of Redding Eagles, Pix Cams, FOBBV, Explore.org and the Institute for Wildlife Studies, San Jose City Falcons, and Cal Falcons.

Early Monday in Bird World

6 June 2022

Liz has posted a video of Urmas and his team removing the Black Storklets from Janika’s nest in Jegova County, Estonia on 5 June. I reported earlier that a glove like a Black Stork shape had been used to place the storklets in the basket. That information is incorrect and my apologies. Bare hands were used. One storklet, sadly, died in the nest over night before the intervention. They need temperatures of 22-28 degrees C. They cannot thermoregulate their temperatures yet. In addition, it rained and well – I hope the remaining chicks survive and thrive. It will be a first for the Veterinary College to raise Black Storklets to fledging. Good luck to Urmas and his team!

Here is the video that Liz posted:

The White Storks Bukachek and Betty still have five storklets in their nest in Mlade Buky, The Czech Republic. You can see the difference in size from the oldest to the youngest known as ‘Little Finger’ by the chatters.

Bukachek (male) is making sure that the wee storklet gets food in the image below.

It has been raining on and off. The rich Red Iron in the clay makes all of the Storks look dirty. Maybe when it is not so rainy more straw will be brought to the nest! That would help.

Awhile ago I mentioned the Lesser Spotted Eagles. Andris and Anna, at their nest in Zemgale, Latvia. The camera was down for awhile but it is now back and running. In the meantime, a beautiful little Lesser Spotted eaglet has hatched!

It is so cute and fluffy! There was only one egg so this is the only chick. Had there been two eggs, the first hatch most always predates the second. So having only one is a good thing! The parents can focus on bringing food to this cutie pie.

Voldis came to the White-tailed Eagle nest that he shares with Milda near Durbe, Latvia. He arrived at 05:30 and stayed for well over an hour.

Milda has had a terrible time since her long time mate, Raimis disappeared two years ago. I hope that Milda and her mate if it is to be Voldis have a very successful next breeding season. This year the eggs were predated.

Margit hatched on 25 April and is growing by leaps and bounds with the tender care of the parents, Kalju and Helju. This Golden Eaglet’s nest is in Soomaa National Park in the southwest of Estonia.

Oh, such a beautiful eaglet. Margit is waking up. The black dot behind the eye is the ear. It will be covered over with feathers before the eaglet fledges.

Helju just brought breakfast for Margit. Liz caught it in a video:

This is the streaming cam for this nest:

What is happening with Ahote? Ahote, the youngest of the three eaglets at the West End nest of Thunder and Akecheta, fledged on June 2. He has spent the time since then on Transmission Rock and is getting hungry unless food was delivered. Working his way back to the nest, he got some wind on his wings and got to the nest but was blown off course. No doubt he will get there! Very determined.

In the image below you can see him directly below and slightly to the right of Kana’kini and Sky.

Checking on Osprey nests in the UK, the third chick hatched at Llyn Brenig but did not survive.

Aeron Z2 and Blue 014 have had their first hatch at the Pont Cresor nest in the Glaslyn Valley.

Laddie LM12 delivered nine – yes, 9 – to the nest for Blue NC0 to feed their three Bobs at the Loch of the Lowes.

All three Bobs seem to be doing fine at the Glaslyn nest of Aran and Mrs G. Just look at how dark Mrs G’s plumage is and that necklace.

Aran has been busy delivering fish. Little Bob is not always in the most perfect position!

I do have to admit that Idris and Telyn are my favourite Ospreys in the UK along with Blue 33 and Maya.

Telyn is feeding the two older Bobs while Bobbie Bach is asleep.

Food coma!

Oh, could that be comfortable?

There is Bobbi Bach ready for his meal while the others sleep. Poor Telyn. They are surely keeping her busy.

It looks like it is starting to dry out for Dylan and Seren at the Llyn Clywedog nest. Gosh, Seren was just so wet and hunkered down keeping the three Bobs warm and dry. Let us hope the sun comes out, too, to warm them up.

Both of the Ospreys were on the UFlorida-Gainesville nest sleeping during the night.

Both are back on the nest waiting for a breakfast delivery!

Good Morning Little Bit 17! Everyone is waiting for prey deliveries at the ND-LEEF nest. I hope that the adults will feed Little Bit like they did yesterday. That would be grand.

The scrape box at Manchester NH is getting to be quite the mess! A good wind will help clear it out. It is hard to believe but this scrape will be on fledge watch beginning on the 10th or 11th of June – this coming weekend!

Nancy is on the nest at 08:40 feeding E1. It looks like they will have a beautiful day at that Bald Eagle nest in Minnesota. Wonder when E1 is going to take to the skies? Nancy has done wonders taking care of E1 and fending off intruders.

Fledge watch is on for the three at the Pittsburgh-Hayes Bald Eagle nest. It looks like only two but 17 is up higher in the tree.

There are still two eaglets – Sentry and Star – on the Redding nest of Liberty and Guardian. We are on fledge watch for these two also! It could be a very busy week!!!!!!

We are definitely on fledge watch for the eyases on the nest of Big Red and Arthur on the Cornell campus. The chicks are restless and L1 is definitely ready!

Oh, the excitement of a nest of four hawks – each itching to fly including the youngest, L4. Wonder if L1 will be the first of the oldest to go? Stay tuned.

Thank you so much for joining me this morning. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their streaming cams where I took my screen captures: the Eagle Club of Estonia, Mlade Buky White Storks, Latvian Fund for Nature, IWS and Explore.org, Friends of LOTL and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Bywyd Gwyllt Glaslyn, Dyfi Osprey Project, CarnyXWild, UFlorida-Gainesville Ospreys, ND-LEEF, Peregrine Networks, MN-DNR, Pix Cams, Friends of Redding Eagles, and Cornell Bird Lab RTH.